Children of Illusion
by ThisAdorableMisery
Summary: With an awful kidnapping and a series of tricks, Link had to once again draw the Four Sword in order to defeat Veran who had been resurrected. But with Zelda’s life in danger and a terrible secret relating to Shadow Link, how will the Four Links succeed?
1. Chapter 1

Children of Illusion

**Children of Illusion**

Chapter One

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. _Ephesians (ch. IV, v. 26-27)_

There are many sinners in this world; evil doers who have rejected the ways of the Three Golden Goddesses; Din, Nayru, and Farore. Turning away from the Goddesses and the correct faith to worship their own God, the Goddesses abandoned this society of nonbelievers. With the holy land out of their disloyal clutches, these beings were known as the Children of Illusion. Once they reach the age of seventeen, they shall lose their final chance of forgiveness, and the Goddesses shall smother them with unimaginable consequences.

Their fates are sealed.

"The queen has fled."

With a sneer, a green-skinned fourteen-year-old glared at an orange haired one standing before her. Both of them looked ready to pounce at one another. The relations between all the Children of Illusion had been very tense as of late. People were converting to other religions with for fear of torture and death. One of which were the queen, who would be turning seventeen tomorrow.

This frustrated the princess; the queen's sister. Face flushing, Madeline stood up, her puffy hoop-skirt under her dress causing her quite a bit of frustration as she tried to push it down, failing miserably. "How DARE she!" Madeline blubbered. Nonchalantly, Shayla watched as the girl nervously paced. Staring blurry-eyed at her slightly shorter friend, Madeline made a loud whining noise. "Please... tell me you're lying." Madeline ran her fingers through her balding, long brown hair which was pushed back with a hair band.

Shayla shook her head. "Sorry to break it to you," With an annoyed sigh she leaned against the palace wall. "But she's gone. I doubt she'll be coming back either. She looked really freaked out." Shayla shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms over her chest, partly to express her stubbornness, and partly to cover a run in the black silken uniform with messy gold lining.

It was cold and moldy in the palace. The air was damp and humid. A thick, mildew smell drifted throughout the stone halls. The walls of the structure were built sloppily; although not much more could be expected of construction workers under the age of seventeen. The towers were crooked, and all the windows were uneven. Most of them had already caved in, and the ones that hadn't were either too big or too small to put glass on, so they were supported with wooden shutters. Almost all of Children of Illusion lived in the Palace walls; and those that didn't lived in the dark, tree-filled swamp they had been shunned to.

A moment of silence was shared between the two of them before Madeline mumbled, "You realize that if I'm wed, I'll be queen." Deep yellow pools met orange ones, and Shayla simply frowned and shook her head. "This is your last chance to really make a difference."

"Doubt it." Shayla stubbornly uncrossed her arms and adjusted the poorly crafted glasses that rested on her nose. Madeline glared at the younger girl as she turned around and face the doors. "We both know that isn't the reason. You'll leave as the other queens before you have," She began to stroll out the sloppy door. "As we both will when we reach the age of judgment." Madeline did not dare speak another word, for she knew Shayla was right. Despite her attempts at standing strong and acting brave, Madeline knew that she would run away from her problems as she did with everything else. She was afraid. Shayla was afraid. Neither of them would spend there whole lives in the Swamps of Illusion.

"Wait," Madeline's voice echoed through the nearly empty palace. Shayla stopped walking and hesitantly turned to the girl who was approaching her; high heels clinking against the stone tiled floor. "Our land… it's cursed, isn't it?" Shayla hesitantly nodded her head. "If we had the blessed lands chosen by the goddesses… We could live out the rest of our lives freely."

Shayla shook her head and let out a dreary sigh. "I'm sorry, Madeline,"

"That's Your Highness, Shayla." She airily corrected.

The red head paid no mind to this interruption. "Madeline," Shayla repeated. "I'm sorry, but I doubt that's possible. They have older soldiers. They're fatter and stronger men that could take us down in an instant. We have an army of scrawny eleven and twelve year olds." Madeline's nostrils narrowed, and Shayla frowned at this. "Odds are we won't last twenty minutes. The only advantage we have is camouflage."

"That could work," Madeline smiled brightly. Shayla just shook her head and sighed in aggravation. "Maybe the ability to hide is the only advantage we need… maybe that would be enough." Shayla shot Madeline a doubtful glance. The fact that her words hadn't sunk in caused her quite a bit of frustration. "At least come with me to check out what they've got." Madeline slouched forward for a moment and attempted a cute pout, which turned out more annoying. "Please?" After a few more words of convincing, Shayla had reluctantly agreed to follow Madeline into enemy lines.

Arm in arm, the two young girls made their way through the mucky swamp. Vines drooped from crooked and leaning trees; over flowing with large green leaves and odd plants. The sky was not visible in the wet land. With every step, Madeline's second hand high heels sunk into the mud. She frowned, unsure of how Shayla was able to walk with such ability. There were no paths for them to follow, although some nine year olds had begun laying down planks on the ground in an attempt to make a trail. It had never been completed, since most of the pieces of wood had sunk into the soft earth. No; this was not the ideal place for a civilization.

As the two exited the swamp, Madeline admired the sight before her. The castle was nearly invisible against the large trees and scattered ponds of water; lily pads and moss growing at the surface. "Come on," Shayla muttered, grasping Madeline's wrist and towing her down a gravel trail.

The only oddity of this was the two seemed to be invisible to the rest of the world. As soon as they had stepped foot out of their cursed swamp; a defensive camouflage had set in to their frame. They seemed transparent – the only thing visible being their rough and mysterious eyes. Although their bodies were slightly blurred, unless you watched very, very intently, they were invisible.

Soon enough, they arrived at the outskirts of Hyrule. The field was nearly empty; only a few lone Poes were near by, and a few carts containing products such as milk and fine fabrics such as silk. The two stared in awe at the beautiful and cleared out area. It was so beautiful and contained things that neither of them had ever seen. Such as flowers, bushes, stone paths and small, wild animals like squirrels. Madeline and Shayla casually strolled unnoticed towards the castle town. They both gawked at the size of Hyrule Castle. A pang of jealousy ran through Madeline's castle as she noticed how much nicer the castle was compared to hers. Her face flushed in anger.

Shayla patted Madeline's shoulders and told her to calm down. It would be about a two hour walk for the two until they reached Hyrule castle and the object they planned to keep hostage until they received recognition.

Princess Zelda Harkinian.


	2. Chapter 2

Children of Illusion

**Children of Illusion**

Chapter Two

_Forsake not an old friend; for the new is not comparable to him: a new friend is as new wine; when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure. -_ _Ecclesiasticus (ch. IX, v. 10)_

When Madeline first laid eyes on Princess Zelda, she did not believe she was actually staring at the princess of Hyrule. Her limbs were long, and her torso was somewhat short. Her skin was pale; and she was very thin. Weight was a way to determine royalty; those that were over weight generally had more money, and those that were thin were rather poor, since only the wealthy could afford to regularly eat. And Zelda was defiantly not over weight. Shayla had pondered aloud the possibility of Zelda having a disease or an eating disorder. This had convinced Madeline, since her sister had an eating disorder at one point.

Shayla and Madeline stood hidden before the princess; their bodies blurred with camouflage developed after their kind being shunned to dark areas of Hyrule where there were large, snarling predators that would like nothing more then to chow down on a Shayla sandwich, and have a Madeline pie for desert. Of course the worst thing Princess Zelda had to fear was breaking a nail while holding on to a hand railing or brushing her hair. The two young ladies exchanged glances before Madeline cleared her throat.

Princess Zelda stiffened at the sudden noise, and quickly turned around to see who else lingered in her living quarters. At that moment, the princess realized how eerie her bedroom looked in the glow of the moonlight. Velvet, purple drapes swayed in the breeze of the open window; the golden handles of the window seemingly glowing.

With a slight shiver, Zelda approached the window and grasped the golden bars with her gloved hands, and softly pulled it shut. As it closed with a clank, Shayla let out a giggle at the princess's ignorance. Zelda whipped her head around, golden hair flinging behind her shoulder as she let out a soft, "Who's there?" into the shadows of her bedroom. Madeline stifled a laugh as well. Surely they must have educated the princess about her enemies! But perhaps not…

"Oh, relax," Madeline said with a high, screech-like giggle. Zelda shuddered at the sound, and Shayla and her slightly taller chum immerged before her. The much taller blond girl let out a sharp gasp and fell backwards at the sudden appearance. "Zelda, I must ask that you keep this hush-hush! This may be a bit of a shock to you, but we're not supposed to be here! You have to keep our little visit on the down-low."

After Zelda's mind had registered the appearance of two random Children of Illusion in her quarters, she finally understood what was going on. "I demand you get out of my room this instant!" Madeline and Shayla exchanged glances, and Shayla shook her head, her poorly-made glasses falling a bit down her nose, and so she pushed them back up with her bony fingers; long, claw like fingernails linking against the wooden frames.

"My sincerest apologize, your highness," Shayla frowned a bit at Zelda's shaken state and placed one hand at the back of Zelda's head and the other over her mouth. Zelda let out a muffled yelp, and attempted to pull away. Madeline scrambled over to the struggling girl and assisted Shayla by clutching Zelda's arms firmly to keep her still, with little success. "But I fear without your help, we may be stuck in that goddess-forsaken swamp for the rest of our days! You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?" Shayla cooed in a tone that made Zelda's skin crawl. Hesitantly, Zelda nodded her head.

Zelda hadn't squirmed for a few moments, before trying to pull her body downwards in order to escape the grasps of the vile girls with no such luck. Madeline clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and shook her head. "My goodness, princess, you're just as strong as you look!" Of course, living on their own in the middle of a swamp had made them quite strong. Fending off blood-thirst beasts wasn't easy, and they also had to eat. There were very few trees and plants that had edible parts, and so their diet consisted of mostly meat, dirt, and grass. Then there was water.

But over all; they were tall, lanky, and had rough green skin. Not the ideal look for lovely ladies, but not the worst possible outcome. "As weak as a wet, new born kitten, gracious me!" Madeline shook her head and picked up a large, wooden stick, with which she hit Zelda over the head. She only swayed for a brief moment before tumbling into Shayla's arms; which had nearly caused her to fall over. Madeline's eyes widened as she clung to one of Zelda's arms, and hoisted her to her feet. "She may be weak," Shayla muttered, "But she's really heavy! Who would have guessed?"

Madeline smiled a bit as Shayla drew a piece of rope, tying it to her right ankle and Zelda's left ankle; which caused their feet to be side by side. Then she tied Madeline's ankle to Zelda's right.

After the two girls camouflaged their skin making them seemingly invisible, they put one hand on Zelda's opposite hip, and one step at a time, began to walk. This created the illusion that the princess was walking. However, since her eyes were closed, it would be essential that no one saw her face. The two attempted to creep about the halls with Zelda's hung head modestly as a good woman should.

Many guards had looked strangely at the princess. A few of them asked if she was feeling well, and whenever someone did, Shayla would grasp the back of Zelda's head; being careful not to get tangled in the golden locks, and make her nod her head. This seemed to satisfy most of the guards, and those that weren't were merely ignored.

The air outside was cool and refreshing to the two Children of Illusion. The swamps never got much of a breeze, and this was a nice change of pace. "You know," Madeline said with intentions of breaking the silence between the three girls… although one of them was still knocked unconscious. "I don't think we've ever left the swamp together."

"I don't think we have, either." Shayla confirmed with a frown, not particularly longing to converse with the likes of Madeline. Madeline frowned at the tension. If she was not tied to Zelda, she would have attempted to further get to know her friend. "Hey," Shayla turned her head to look at Madeline, who quickly turned her head to look back. "Have you even considered how we're going to get her all the way back to the swamps? I mean, it's about a seven-hour walk from here, and we have a princess with us. In my opinion, this particular position is just screaming, rape me!"

Madeline let out a snort and shook her head. "Things are strange here, I know. We should take a royal horse. This way it may seem like Zelda has simply run off." Madeline nudged her head to the side in a meek attempt at pointing out a stable, which the two pathetically wobbled over to.

There wasn't much of a variety of horses; none of which stood out more then any others. They were all snow white without a spec of dirt; tattoos of Triforces painted on their hips. Madeline frowned at the horses' state, but thought nothing of it as she opened one of the stables and towed one of the horses out; awkwardly limping since she was fastened to both Shayla and Zelda.

Shayla had spotted a cart, which she connected to the horses' saddle. The two Children of Illusion lugged Zelda's limp body into the wooden cart, and covered it with a near by blanket. Shayla mounted the horse; followed by Madeline. The two were slightly scrunched on the saddle for one, uncomfortably close. Madeline was tempted to squirm, but she feared that awkwardness would grow between them.

The mare whinnied as Shayla dug her heel into the horse's hip. The horse jolted forward, and Shayla, Madeline, and the horse's neck were all squished together, though Shayla truly looked the most annoyed. Madeline cleared her throat and sat up straight, tying up her thinning brown hair with a piece of yarn in a high pony tail.

The hours seemed to drag on and on as the horse trotted along the gravel trail of Hyrule Field. Madeline had briefly mentioned a small concern for Zelda's oxygen levels, so they had cut a couple air holes incase she happened to wake up. But for the same purpose, they had also fastened Zelda's wrists and ankles together, causing her to form some sort of triangle-like shape. Four hours had passed once they finally arrived at the swamp; Zelda had woken up, and had given up on screaming for help, seeing as how no one dared approach this area.

Madeline dismounted first; followed by Shayla. Then the two began in the process of carrying Zelda into Madeline's palace. Zelda was constantly murmuring chants under her breath, begging for forgiveness from the goddesses for being in such an unholy area against her will.

Madeline and Shayla had untied Zelda; but they knew that she wouldn't dare try to escape from the swamp. Not only did Zelda not know the way back; but monsters lurked in the shadows of trees and in the murky waters. There were the occasional areas of quick sand, in which Zelda could sink, but Madeline and Shayla knew how to escape from. As a matter of fact, Zelda stuck rather close to the two young ladies.

Zelda was disgusted with the current state of Madeline's living quarters. There were many rats; and a few of the children servants had what seemed like the plague. Their skin had turned a gray tone, and it made Zelda even more fearful then she had previously been. Because of the moss and damp stone tiles, Zelda could no longer hear the soothing sound of her footsteps echoing against the tiles. It was rather unnerving.

Once the throne room was reached, Madeline and Shayla sat down on a log that they had towed into to use as a chair. It was damp as well, but a lot of the dead bark had been peeled off, giving it a soft pine scent. Zelda frowned a bit, and was taken by surprised as a short blonde girl shoved her into a bowing position in front of the two. "That's better," Madeline smiled brightly, and crossed her right leg timidly over the left one. "So, princess, what can I do for you?"

Zelda gaped. "You brought me here!" She wailed, only to be whacked hard by the short blonde girl who hissed quiet threats to Zelda. Zelda swallowed a lump in his throat, and released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"Enough chit chat," Madeline waved her hand nonchalantly as if to brush away the thought. "If you don't have any issues to bring up, princess, then I'll just bring up any topic at random!" She paused and tapped her fingers against the log beneath her. "How about… hey, here's an idea!" She clapped her hands together. "You know, I am fourteen as of today! And since I have no parents, you see, no one can arrange my marriage! So I decided I'd just go ahead and let Shayla here decide for me!"

Shayla gave a slight nod of her head.

"And here's the funny part; you're going to laugh when you hear this. She said that since I'm a princess, and YOU'RE a princess, we should be wed!" Zelda gawked a bit, but Madeline shook her head. "I know it's sudden, princess, but think of the alternative!" Shayla made a slicing motion with her hand and her neck, and Zelda gulped. "Exactly, so you see where I'm coming from, right? And you can go ahead and hand over your kingdom to me! You know, as a wedding gift and what not." With a grin, she turned to the pale, young girl who looked no older then ten-years-old. "Xalvadora, darling, would you mind showing Miss Zelda to her room?" With a nod, Xalvadora grasped Zelda's arms roughly, and towed her down the hall.

At first glance, Zelda had mistook the room Xalvadora assigned to her as a dungeon cell; a small pile of hay stashed in the corner covered with large leaves all woven together, and what looked like some sort knitted wool article sewn to the bottom of the strange comfort item. There was no rug, but the floor was tiled with stones, most of which were mismatched. The only real pieces of furniture in the room were a small wooden chair with a poorly made cushion attached, and a small wooden table covered with knitting supply.

Shakily, Zelda turned to Xalvadora; her curly blonde pony tails shimmering in the room; dimly lighted with a small candle that was nearly all melted. It looked like nothing more then a puddle of wax. "…Is this a cell?" She questioned softly. Normally, she would try to escape the clutches of the small girl, but the Children of Illusion were very fast and strong, and escape was nearly utterly hopeless. "A jail… some sort of dungeon?"

"Quite the contrary," Zelda was slightly caught off guard by how soft and high Xalvadora's voice was. "This is Princess Madeline's room. Consider yourself lucky; for she has the nicest room in the palace… the whole swamp, in fact." The short girl hesitantly clutched Zelda's arm and walked forward with her, taking her in the midst of the smelly, damp room. Zelda was silent. She was overwhelmed with frustration, irritation, furry, anger, rage, and pity… all sorts of emotions that were quite similar but had mildly different definitions, with the exception of the word pity, which is the opposite of the other words. Zelda frowned at how vast her vocabulary was, and yet she couldn't find a word that had a unique definition to describe the way she was feeling.

The princess stiffened once she realized Xalvadora was no longer in the room with her. She approached the wooden plank and tugged at the rope handle, only to find it locked. "Shit," Zelda hissed between her teeth, pulling harshly at the door before kicking it. Her high-heel broke. How annoying! Zelda thought to herself, as she ran over to the hay mattress, which she flung herself on to, and began to sob. She didn't know why; her predicament wasn't so bad. Sure, Madeline was a girl, and quite softer then Ganondorf, and she knew she wouldn't be abused… but she was alone, and forced into marriage.

"If only Link were here…"


	3. Chapter 3

Children of Illusion

**Children of Illusion**

Chapter Three

_For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulcher; they flatter with their tongue. Psalms (ch. V, v. 9)_

One thing that was most disastrous about the Children of Illusion was their ability to shape shift. Keep in mind that they had to be within a five-meter range of the person or creature who's form they were shifting in to; and it was therefore easy be to caught or pointed out. Unless, of course, that person happened to have an identical twin who happened to be away on vacation at the time. But that scenario seems a little bit too convenient, and was most unlikely, so it was very difficult for these children to escape, and if captured, death was a sure thing. That's why, in order to get Link, Zelda was a necessity. There would be no impersonating the princess in order to lure the hero into their trap.

A storm raged through Hyrule. Shivering, Zelda clung to Shayla's arm; not only for warmth, but for protection from Madeline. Zelda had been stripped over her jewelry and over-coat; left in a white under dress with a purple shirt over it. She shivered. Chained to Shayla's ankle, she awkwardly wobbled forward. Link had been living quite close to the castle in order to spring to Zelda's aid if need be. As the three approached the small house, Zelda began to cry. Madeline frowned a bit, and patted Zelda's bare shoulder, and muttered a quiet threat to her, which wasn't in the least bit comforting.

Outside of Link's house they stood; as still as a picture; none of them daring move a single inch. After a moment of complete silence, Madeline drew a dagger from her dress, grabbing Zelda's hair tightly, and hacking it off. Zelda screamed in terror, expecting to be beheaded. At the world shattering screech, Link burst from his house, and Madeline clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Zelda stood dumb founded, watching as the strands of golden hair wisped carelessly away in the wind; some of them staying against the stone surface of the road. Her hair was no longer then her ears. Shakily, she looked up at Link. Their eyes were locked for a moment, and Zelda cried out Link's name, attempting to run to him. Shayla tugged her ankle back, and Zelda fell to the ground. Madeline quickly stomped on the chain binding the two, breaking it, and tossing Zelda over her shoulder. "Come get her!" Madeline said with a wink grabbing Shayla's wrist, and cackling, the two dashed off.

Link, dumb founded, found him self defenselessly running after the two children of illusion, Zelda crying at Link to go back and not to follow. But Link ignored her. Madeline, hacking off parts of her dress that were getting in her way, ultimately allowed herself more speed. Shayla had smartly dressed herself in pants, and therefore didn't have this issue.

Once they were panting heaps of uselessness, Shayla and Madeline ducked into a large shrine. The second Link set foot inside, he knew exactly where he was. Thick vines crept up the green tainted stone bricks of the shrine; a large demon with an eye painted upon the eye where a sword rested beneath. Why bring him to the Four Sword Shrine? Vaati lurked within the depths of the Minish Village, and was no longer a threat. With a smirk, knowing nothing was between him and princess Zelda, he ran to the shrine and withdrew the sword, lunging towards Madeline who shoved Shayla and Zelda aside. They looked rather annoyed, but at the sight of a rather deep gash on Madeline's arm, felt an odd pang of sympathy.

"Madeline! She's not coming!" Shayla cried, scrambling to her feet to regain balance. "She's not coming, retreat!" She had repeated herself for emphasis, but Madeline ignored her. The brunette simply threw a punch in Link's direction, only to loose her left wrist. She cried out, pressing her hands between her legs to try to stop the bleeding. The lack of fabric made it difficult. "You're not the vessel!" Shayla reminded her. "Zelda is!"

"No!" Madeline screamed, causing Shayla to be a bit taken back. "The Sage of Light is no proper vessel for the Sage of Shadows!" As she spoke, Link quivered, his body dividing. He was used to the sensation, seeing as how it was the second time the feeling of power behind divided into four ran through him. Link, who was now referred to as Green, smiled at his companions that stood before. They hadn't changed; Red had instantaneously grabbed and hugged Blue, who began to yell. Vio was silent.

An eerie silence swept through the shrine. Everyone stood still; Madeline, Shayla, Zelda, and all Four Links. A soft mist rose from the shrine, and in a matter of seconds, darkness began to spew up high in the sky. Demons screeched as they rose into the black sky; any and all walls in the shrine being carelessly broken as monsters danced through the broken pathways. Red let out a fearful cry and clung to Vio's arm. Green and Blue, clutching their swords tightly, began to let their guard down as the tidal wave of monsters slowly began to come to a halt.

"…that was stupid." Blue grumbled, whipping around and frowning at Madeline, who was wincing and hugging her handless wrist to her arm pit for safety. He smirked at her, and began to walk towards her. As soon as he took a step; it echoed through the shrine. Blue stopped abruptly; almost as if he were about to step into a bear trap.

High heels clinked against the stone tiles. Everyone shakily turned to the shrine. Someone was there; their skin bubbling with darkness as it began to take shape. It was not Vaati. It was not Ganondorf. It was someone much stronger.

Veran…

The Sorceress of Shadows.

"She came," Madeline breathed. The girl crumpled into an awkward bow, and began to sob. Veran began to walk towards her, her cape swaying behind her. "Master… I've waited for you!" She sobbed. Her body quivered.

Shock overwhelmed the whole group as Veran stepped on Madeline's neck. She gagged loudly, and tried to sit up from her bow. Veran snarled, and kicked her onto her back so she could glare down at her face. "You..?" She smirked a bit. "You DARE interrupt my final resting place?" She laughed, removing her foot from Madeline's neck. She coughed loudly and turned to her side. Veran glanced at Link. "Why Link! You haven't aged at all in the time I was gone! Oh my, I was certainly expecting to be resurrected, but not so quickly!"

Green growled and quickly charged Veran, clutching his sword tightly in his hand. It came intact with Veran's stomach, but didn't scar, or even pierce her pale blue-green skin. She grinned a bit, before poking Green's forehead. He stumbled backwards, and fell. "How could you do that?" Green barked, scrambling to his feet, only to be pushed over again. "Not that I'm on her side, or anything, but she brought you back to life, and you tried to kill her?"

Veran clicked her tongue against the roof of my mouth. "Gracious, how impolite I've been!" She sighed deeply, raising one hand. At this action, Madeline was forced to her feet with a sob. Another swift movement of her hand, and Shayla was before her as well; and Zelda buried in her arms. "You two… I'll leave you to rid of them. You fail, and consider yourselves supper." With a grin, her frame was devoured by a cloud of gray smoke, and she was gone.

"Master, don't leave me!" Madeline sobbed, flinging herself at the smoke. Nothing happened; but Madeline was no longer visible. Shayla grunted, and drew a sword from her belt. It was much smaller then the Links', but just as good. Blue grinned. Only one girl for them to fight: this would be a piece of cake!

He charged at Shayla, who quickly held the flat edge of her sword and blocked the hit. It was flung towards her head in a vertical slice, which was rather easy to block at first. But Blue was far stronger, and Shayla was over powered. "There's three more, Madeline!" She cried. "We should go!" She squeaked as she felt Madeline fling her arms around her torso in order to block the collision with an arrow. "Stop taking the hit for me!" Shayla barked, shoving Madeline side. She stumbled to the ground and cried hard. "I can stand up for myself! If you would stop stalking me and pay attention to my personality, maybe you would've noticed that already!"

Madeline was silent. Emotional pain mixed with the pain of a missing hand, a gash in her arm, and an arrow in her rib cage was overwhelming. Shayla stared at Madeline blankly before activating her camouflage and running out of the shrine. Vio approached Madeline and frowned down at her. She looked pathetic; like a fish out of water. Trying too hard to stand up; sobbing with grief and pain. "Can you give me one good reason not to kill you?" He questioned in a deadpan tone.

She was silent for a long time, before looking up at Vio; her eyes pink with tears. "…It's all so hard." Blood leaked from the plush lips which began to quiver. "The unrequited love pulses through my veins. If only I had mattered…" Rolling on to her stomach, she curled up in order to try and stop the swelling in her handless arm. "…What have you done, Madeline?" She asked herself. After a moment of staring questioningly staring at Madeline, Vio turned away and began to walk towards the other Links, who all seemed unable to care less if Madeline lived or died at this point. Their foot steps echoed, and as they began to walk off, Madeline spoke. "…I know you miss him… I do too. But we are creatures of darkness, him and me."

Vio's face scrunched up a bit and he growled, drawing his bow and quickly holding an arrow to it; drawing back the thick string and plunging the arrow deep in Madeline's chest. She cried out, and curled up, beginning to cry. "That's so cruel," Red said quietly, fiddling with the edge of his belt.

"He is no longer like the others. We can not regret." With great effort, Madeline rolled to her side to face Vio. "We are creatures of the shadows; creatures of darkness and evil that bathe in the pain and woe of others! But he has changed. He feels for you; and he lives within you!"

"Why don't you just fucking die?!" Vio barked, charging at Madeline once more. As he drove the blade through her chest, Madeline clutched it, staring blankly up at him.

"Don't you see, Violet? I suffer from the curse of immortality! But I can feel pain! I can feel it!" She stared up at him blankly. She grinned a bit, and tightened her grasp on the sword that was driven in her stomach. "I would not be you for the entire world. You have let your doom in by the front door, but it will not depart that way!" Shakily she rose to her feet; her shoes torn and in ruin. Limping, she made her way over to the four sword shrine. As she set foot on the pedestal, a bright light enveloped her body, and she screamed; a piercing cry that echoed throughout the shrine, until the limp body of a shadow remained.

Flinging to its feet, the being of darkness, with glowing red eyes, clung itself to Vio's body. He cried out; attempting to pry the creature off. The other Links quickly ran to his aid; tugging and trying to rip off the dark blob. But they were soon swallowed as well, and just as soon as they were, they were spat back out. Bubbles rose from the puddle of black water. As if being sucked up by a vacuum, the Links' shadows were swallowed by the blob, and soon enough, it had taken shape. Their shape.

"Shadow?" Vio blinked for a moment; dumb founded. "Madeline, you jerk! You were Shadow?!" Shadow shook his head, and Vio frowned.

"Pfsh, hell no, I'm not Madeline!" Shadow swatted his hand playfully as if to brush away the thought. "She was just a silly sacrifice, I guess! I wonder if that's the only reason she came? Anyways, who cares? I'm with you, my friends!" Shadow slung his arm over one of Vio's shoulders, and one of Red's. Red smiled and hugged Shadow tightly, where as Vio stood completely still. "…I'll just assume that you missed me, eh, Vio?" Shadow grinned a bit, and yet, the blond said nothing.

_I would not be you for the entire world. You have let your doom in by the front door, but it will not depart that way!_

Vio cursed Madeline's last words under his breath.

That bitch.


End file.
